


Sunny Little Dragon

by wapaksoccet13



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-04-06 12:36:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14057139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wapaksoccet13/pseuds/wapaksoccet13
Summary: Yang Xiao Long has always had an abandonment issue.  Life has taught her to keep her distance from those she cares the most about.  When a friend she thought long gone from her life returns, will Yang be ready for the consequences?





	1. New and Old

The moon shone brightly through her window as she looked through her gym bag.   _Cleats, check.  Shin guards, check.  Practice uniform, check.  Two water bottles, check._ Everything was packed and ready for practice later that day.  She zipped up the black and yellow bag, reaching down to grab her bright yellow bookbag off of the ground.  She slid the bookbag onto her back first before sliding her gym bag onto her left shoulder. Mentally checking off her checklist once more, she nodded with a smile and left her bedroom as quietly as she could.

She moved as quietly as she could across the old floorboards, careful to step around the spots that squeaked louder than others.  She quickly made her way down the stairs, grabbing her wallet and keys before heading to the garage. The light to the garage flickered on as she closed the door behind her.  She pressed the button to the garage door, wincing at the loud screech it made as it began to open, and made her way over to the motorcycle on the far side of the garage.

Her sister Ruby had made fun of her for naming the motorcycle Bumblebee, but how could she not?  Nothing solidifies ownership than a name. She smiled to herself as she got onto the seat, reaching over to the bench to grab the yellow helmet.  She slid it on, clipping the small buckle just underneath her chin. Bumblebee purred to life under her fingertips, sending a calm through her body as she revved her motorcycle once.  She knew her father would be awake by now, and she could already hear his irritation of her morning routine in the garage. She smiled to herself, walking Bumblebee out of the garage before pulling out of the driveway.

The stars were still bright above her as she drove through the empty streets of Vale.  The only people awake at this time were the adults heading off to their morning jobs. No traffic, and no distractions; just the way she liked her morning routine.  She pulled up to her high school, Beacon Academy, and parked near their sports complex. The nearby fields were where they would play official matches, and inside the complex itself was a full turf field and basketball arena.  Nothing was too expensive for Beacon Academy; only the best were able to get in.

She pulled into her usual parking spot, taking her helmet off to release her long, blonde hair.  It flowed down her back in waves, a characteristic that she held pride in. The side door was unlocked for the student athletes, though she would be the only one in the complex for another hour.  Her footsteps echoed in the hallway as she walked towards the last locker room on the left. She stopped in front of the door, looking up at the sign above it with a smile.

**_Women’s Soccer Team Only._ **

Each team had their own locker room.  She eased the door open and walked to the far left corner of the locker room, opening the door to locker number 2.  She set her gym bag on the bench next to her locker before placing her bookbag inside, grabbing one of two practice jerseys she left in the locker.  She changed into the shirt before pulling her shin guards and cleats out of her gym bag. She took her time getting her equipment on, a routine that she used before the start of major games.  It gave her a chance to relax her body, to ease the racing thoughts in her mind.

The lights of the turf field flickered on as she walked out with a bag of practice balls.  She walked out to the middle of field, sliding through the apps on her phone. She clicked on her workout playlist before connecting to the complex’s speaker system.  She smiled as her music began to fill the once empty space around her. _I really need to thank Ren properly one of these days_ , she thought to herself as she dumped the practice balls out of their bag.

She stretched, got her sprints in, and spent the following hour running all of her drills.  Two-a-days showed her that she had a lot of work to do before she was even half the player the upperclassmen were, a challenge she happily accepted.  Not even the first day of classes for her freshman year would deter her from working towards the starting line up. She just had to take it one step at a time, just as she always had.  She worked hard to get where she was at, and she could only climb higher.

“You know, if Coach caught you out here, she’d find some way of punishing you at practice this afternoon,” a voice broke her concentration, causing her to miss the corner shot she had just kicked.

She frowned, turning towards the newcomer.  She saw her sitting over on the bench, a smile on her face as she rested her chin on her hand.  Her crimson hair was pulled back into a high ponytail; her bright green eyes raised in question towards her.

“Not everyone can be Coach’s favorite, Pyrrha.”

Pyrrha Nikos’s green eyes lit up in amusement.  She was one of three freshmen to make the varsity team for Beacon’s women’s soccer team, a skilled striker who was already gaining national interest.  It was only the year before that Pyrrha had received her first college letter from Florida University, her dream school, about attending and participating on their team.  If it hadn’t been for her father and national signing restrictions, Pyrrha may have signed her national letter-of-intent right then and there.

“Please.  If anyone’s a favorite, it’s you because you always give her some reason to make you work ten times harder than anyone else,” a new voice added as they walked into view.

She smiled at the white haired girl who joined Pyrrha on the bench. “Then why are you on the varsity team, Weiss?”

Weiss smiled at her question, pushing her hair off of her shoulder. “Isn’t it obvious?  Coach recognizes the Schnee talent.”

Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Data Company.  The middle child of the Schnee children, she was named their heir after her older sister, Winter, chose to continue her passion in sports and physical therapy.  Weiss was the embodiment of prissy rich girl, but those closest to her knew how she despised her father’s insistence at controlling every aspect of her life. She took every chance she could to separate herself from her father’s control; her decision to attend Beacon was just one of many in the past year though it was by far the more groundbreaking ones.

Pyrrha looked up at Weiss. “I’m sure that wasn’t the top reason she chose you, Weiss.  There was a clear weakness in the defense, and by all accounts, you’re the best defensive player to come to Beacon in the past few years.”

Weiss puffed her chest up at Pyrrha’s words. “Well, I wasn’t going to say I was the best, but thank you for pointing that out, Pyrrha.”

Despite her bravado, Weiss still held a soft spot for her teammates and friends, clear by the smile in her eyes as she looked to their friend. “Come on.  You need to pack up all the equipment and go change. I will not be late to my first day at Beacon Academy because of you, Yang Xiao Long.”

Yang laughed, gathering up her equipment and following her friends back into the locker room.  After she changed into their school uniform, the three friends made their way to the main school building.  The halls were beginning to fill with students, many in soft conversations with each other. Yang led the way to her locker, hanging her bag on the middle hook.  She pulled out her notebook, sliding a single pencil behind her right ear, when she heard a familiar high-pitched squeal from the opposite end of the hall.

“Yang!”

_Right on time._ Yang closed her locker door in time for Ruby to slam into her right side, a bright smile on her face. “Hey there, Rubes.  Dad finally drop you off?”

Ruby nodded as she let go of her sister.  One of the smartest kids Yang knew, Ruby had impressed the headmaster of Beacon Academy with her test scores that he allowed for her early entrance.  Two years ahead of her peers, Yang couldn’t be anymore prouder of her little sister. She listened to her sister talk with her friends excitedly, trying to hold in her chuckle as she watched Weiss scold Ruby for her overexcitement.  High school was a time for new chapters to start, and Yang was more than ready for what the future held for her.

Above them, the warning bell for their first class sounded.  Yang looked to Ruby with a smile. “You know where you’re going?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom, I know where I’m going.”

Yang reached out, rubbing her palm on the top of Ruby’s head. “Just wanted to make sure, Rubes.  I’ll see you at lunch, ok?”

Ruby nodded before rushing off into the opposite direction towards her class.  Yang smiled before turning to head to her first class, English Literature. She wasn’t excited that literature would be her first class of the day, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.  When she stepped into the room, her attention was immediately drawn to the two girls in the back corner who were waving fiercely at her. Yang laughed and walked over to one of the free desks next to the two girls, Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina.

Velvet leaned forward on her elbows, her smile wide at Yang. “Hey Yang, how was your break?”

Yang shrugged, setting her notebook on her desk before leaning back onto Coco’s desk. “A bunch of working out for the soccer team.  Nothing too exciting. How about you two?”

Coco matched Yang’s shrug with one of her own. “Nothing outside of following this one wherever she wanted to go for photos,” she said, pointing her thumb at Velvet.

A blush spread quickly across Velvet’s cheeks. “Hey!  You said you wanted to come!”

Coco laughed. “Never said I didn’t, but it is nice to know I can still get you flustered.”

Velvet continued to pout at Coco’s words before something else caught her attention, her back straightening. “Hey who’s that?”

Yang turned around to the rest of their classmates filing into the room. “Who’s what?”

Velvet reached forward, pointing to the girl sitting near the front of the opposite side of the room. “That girl right there.  Is she the new girl?”

Yang turned back to her friends. “New girl?”

Coco nodded. “New transfer student.  So new that even I don’t know her name yet.”

Yang raised her eyebrows at Coco’s admission.   _No one new gets in here without Coco knowing them._ She turned back towards the new girl, her long raven hair hiding her face from Yang.  Yang kept her eyes on the new girl until their teacher walked in, a bright smile on her face.  She introduced herself as Ms. Orla before moving forward to roll call.

Yang leaned her cheek against her palm, trying her hardest to suppress the yawn sitting in her chest.  She chewed the inside of her lip, listening absentmindedly to the names listed off before hers, when a familiar name was called.

“Blake Belladonna?”

Yang’s mind snapped to attention.   _The teacher must’ve made a mistake.  Blake hasn’t-_

“Here.” Yang turned her head towards the new girl, her hand raised timidly in the air.  She waited until the teacher nodded in acknowledgement before dropping her hand back to her lap.

Yang continued to stare at the new girl.  Coco had to elbow the girl into raising her hand with Ms. Orla called her name, but even then, Blake remained on Yang’s mind.  Yang bit her lower lip as she tried to focus her mind on the syllabus that was placed in front of her but to no avail. After all these years, Blake was back, and Yang had no idea why.

When the bell rang for the end of class, Yang was to her feet in an instant.  Coco and Velvet rushed to their feet as well, following Yang out the room to find her looking up and down the hall. “Why the rush, Yang?” Coco asked, her hand moving to Yang’s shoulder.

Yang wanted to stomp her foot; she wanted to punch something.  In the short moment that the bell had rang to Yang getting out into the hall, she had lost sight of Blake. “It’s nothing,” she mumbled before making her way over to her locker.

Yang moved throughout the rest of the day tense.  She was silent through the jokes from her friends and curt when Ruby tried to ask her what was wrong.  Out of all the people she expected to see today, Blake was not one of them. It made Yang wonder why Blake was here at Beacon and not back at Haven.  Haven was closer to Menagerie than Beacon was. _I could ask the same question about Weiss’s decision, but then again, she proudly announced to us why she chose Beacon and not Atlas._

The rest of the day passed before Yang’s eyes, and soon enough, she found herself changing into her practice uniform.  Her coach, Glynda Goodwitch, was known state-wide for her stern workout routine, pushing her players to the limits to show where they could improve.  The first day of practice in the summer had shown Yang how hard she would have to work get a starting position. Today was no different, but with Blake sitting in the forefront of her mind, Yang found herself pushing harder and harder in the drills.

“Xiao Long!  Go take a water break!” Yang heard Coach shout at her.

She paused off to the side of the field, her breath coming out in spurts. “Why?”

Coach narrowed her eyes at Yang. “Because I don’t need you passing out from overexertion.  Now go!”

Yang grumbled but did as she was told.  It wasn’t hard to see the sidelong glances she got from some of her teammates, especially the older players, as the rest of practice continued.  Yang had a reputation of playing hard, but the frustration from the school day had split out into her play as well.

Yang brushed off Pyrrha and Weiss at the end of practice, choosing to do a few more sprints on the turf field to make up for her missed ones that morning.  The locker room was empty as she entered it afterwards, changing in peace. Yang threw her backpack onto her back before flinging her gym bag over her right shoulder.  She was reaching for her keys on her way out to Bumblebee when she heard a commotion. She looked around, eyes narrowing, as she searched for the source. It was then that she heard the cry of a girl.

Instincts kicking in, Yang dropped her bags and rushed to the source of the cry.  She rounded the corner of the school, finding three men encroaching on a girl backed up to the wall of the school.  When her eyes focused on the girl, Yang was surprised to see it was Blake. What caught her attention next was the makeshift weapons in the hands of each of the men.

“You should’ve known better, Blakey.  No one pisses the boss off and gets away with it,” one of the men said, oblivious to Yang as she slowly started to make her way towards their backs.

She could see Blake look at them with terrified eyes, tears rushing down her cheeks. “I...I can...I…”

**_TWACK!_ **

Yang’s right leg connected with the man on the right, sending him into his two friends.  The three tumbled to the ground, allowing Blake to quickly move away from them. Yang brought her hands up just below her eye level, watching as the men got up one by one.  The man that she had kicked was the first to his feet; he was the first to charge Blake, the pipe in his hand high above his head. She ducked under his swing, slamming her left knee into his stomach before bringing her left elbow down hard on the base of his neck.  

The second felt like he was smarter than his friend, moving slower towards Yang but choosing to start out his attack with a low kick.  Yang threw the man a smirk before kicking back his swinging leg, pushing out his extended arm to throw him off balance, spinning into a crouch to kick his planted foot from underneath him, and punching his chest to send him to the ground.  Both men groaned as Yang turned her attention to the last man. He swallowed, the bat in his hands shaking as he stared at her. Yang smiled and took a menacing step forward; the last man dropped his bat and turned tail, running as fast as he could towards the gate of the campus.

When it was clear that the men at her feet wouldn’t be getting up soon, Yang looked up to where Blake had been standing, but there was no sign of the raven hair girl.  Yang spun around, looking for any sign of where Blake may have gone to, but she couldn’t see one. She sighed, rubbing the back of her head as she walked back towards Bumblebee and her bags.

“At least that was worth the trouble, I guess,” Yang mumbled to herself as she picked up her bags one by one, throwing them onto her shoulders.

So busy with the prospect of going home, Yang failed to see the pair of golden eyes watching her near the gate of the school.  The shadows of the trees hid the girl from the blonde’s sight; the roar of Bumblebee’s engine drowned out the quiet words that left raven hair girl’s mouth.

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for checking out my new story! Leave comments and kudos; tell me what you thought about it!
> 
> Make sure you follow me on Tumblr: wapaksoccet13.tumblr.com


	2. Three Years Ago

Yang found herself the most comfortable when her life followed a routine.  Morning workout, school, practice after school, family time at dinner, sleep; rinse and repeat.  The first few weeks of the school year followed the regiment, and that’s how Yang liked it. Keeping the mundane aspects of her life in check meant she could focus on the more important aspects, such as the undefeated start of their soccer season and the approaching start to the conference games.  Little could deter Yang from her goals, and she wanted nothing more than to bring home the conference banner this year.

Unfortunately, she had little say in when the small anomalies decided to make appearances in her life.  Yang should have recognized that the day was going to be different when her father greeted her that morning, a bright smile on his face as he drank his black coffee.  It should have been more obvious when she was met by Pyrrha and Weiss at the sports complex, matching grins as they greeted her arrival. It was the first day of the first conference game, and they wanted to be in a similar mindset that Yang placed herself in for games.  Yang found her touched by the motion that she ignored the warning bells in the back of her mind that something about this day was off.

The ignorance caught up to Yang at lunch.  Entranced with the video of a previous game, she failed to recognize her friends start to join her at their table in the cafeteria.  Ruby nudged her arm, only to receive a nod in acknowledgement from Yang. Yang heard her sister sigh, turning her attention back to whatever conversation Sun Wukong, an exchange student who played for their men’s soccer team, was leading.  She vaguely heard parts of their conversation, picking up that the topic was of the upcoming homecoming dance, when her sister’s high voice caught her full attention.

“Oh!  I know her!  Her name’s Blake Belladonna, and Yang and I used to be really good friends with her.”

Yang started coughing on the water she had just taken a sip of at the mention of Blake.  Ruby and Pyrrha turned to Yang, making sure that she was alright, but she could hear Sun’s laughter at the sudden turn of events.  Yang narrowed her eyes into a glare towards the blonde boy, taking a napkin to wipe her mouth.

Sun leaned forward, his charming smile on full effect towards Yang. “So Yang, want to introduce me to your friend?”

Yang bit the inside of her lip, but Ruby was quicker to respond. “Uh well...there lies the problem with that, Sun.  We actually haven’t seen Blake since I was like five I think. I didn’t even know she attended Beacon until I ran into her in my theater class, which is really weird.”

Neptune Vasilias, another exchange student and Sun’s best friend, raised an eyebrow at Ruby. “How so?”

Ruby frowned, looking off to another part of the cafeteria. “She’s from Menagerie, so she should be attending Haven like you and Sun.”

Weiss set her fork down onto her plate. “If I remember correctly, Blake’s the only transfer student we got this year.  She’s in choir with me; great voice, but she just needs to project a bit more.”

Video forgotten, Yang tucked her phone into her pocket and picked up her books.  She ignored the string of questions that followed her as she left the table, her attention lost to the memories that were flooding back to her mind.  Before she knew it, the beeping of the weight room’s lock told Yang where her subconscious had led her to. She dropped her books off onto a nearby table, walking to the far corner of the room where a punching bag sat unmoving.

One punch.  Then another.  A third and then a fourth.  Yang ignored the building pain in her knuckles, throwing punch after punch at the bag.  It went from a slow rocking to a large swing the longer she chose to unleash her anger on it.  With each passing moment, her knuckles grew redder, and the words from three years ago grew louder in Yang’s ears.

 _I’m not going to fix all of your problems, Yang!_ Two consecutive punches threw the bag back towards the wall.

 _Why don’t you just grow up for once?_ Her knuckles’ screams caught her attention, but they weren’t the only way for her to attack the punching bag.  Yang swung her right leg up, the connection sending the bag to the far left as her father’s training regime started to kick in.

 _I will NEVER be friends with such a selfish brat like you!_ Yang screamed her frustration as she sent one final punch towards the bag.  The impact sent the bag back towards the wall, but the momentum brought it back in full force, knocking into Yang and sending her onto her back.

The chain that held the punching bag groaned as it began to slow to a stop, the only noise in the room as Yang stared up at the ceiling.  Her breathing was hard and ragad, her anger slowly seeping from her mind and body as she continued to lay on the floor. When her thoughts began to finally clear, Yang groaned to herself as she began to rub small circles on the sides of her head.

“It’s good to see that they got a durable punching bag this time.  I don’t think staff would appreciate you breaking another one.”

Yang sat up fast at Pyrrha’s voice, turning to find the redhead smiling at her from the door to the weight room. “How long have you been standing there?”

Pyrrha pushed off of the wall and walked over to Yang. “Long enough to see the punching bag get that good hit on you at the end.” Yang groaned, her shoulders slumping.  Pyrrha rolled her eyes before taking a seat on a nearby bench. “Want to talk about it?”

Yang sat silently, staring down at her hands as she worked to gather her thoughts. “It’s...not a story that I really want to talk about, Pyrrha.”

Pyrrha watched her friend for a moment, giving her a shrug. “Suit yourself, but you can’t expect the rest of us to be satisfied with that answer forever, Yang.  I just figured you’d want to tell your side of the story before people started asking questions and got a different picture.”

Yang groaned, pulling her knees to her chest as she leaned back against the bench Pyrrha was sitting on.  A quiet fell over them as Yang thought over the pros and cons. “It’s a long story,” she warned.

“We’ve got time to talk.”

Yang crossed her arms over her chest, gently rubbing her left bicep with her right hand. “It happened three years ago.”

* * *

 

**_Three years ago_ **

The chain of her amulet jiggled as Yang wrapped her right hand around it, her thumb running slowly over its smooth surface.  It was the last token of Summer’s that she had left, a picture of all four of them held within it. Summer had always been more of a mother to her than her own biological mother, Raven, had been.  At least Summer didn’t intentionally leave her alone. Her amulet was the last reminder Yang had of a time where things were simpler. A time where she had been happier.

Nothing had been the same after Blake moved back to Menagerie.  Summer got sick. Then Yang started seeing Blake with more friends.  Weiss moved away. Then Summer passed away. Even now, Yang’s only friend, Pyrrha, was too busy hanging out with the local weirdo, Jaune Arc.  All Yang had left was Ruby and her father. The truth hurts, but Yang found it hurt worse when she knew those around her were happier without her around.  Maybe that’s why she prayed that the footsteps approaching her from behind were someone else’s.

“Yang.”

She knew why Blake was here.  After another fight with her father about Ruby’s upbringing, Yang had ran off to the mall, hoping the space would help calm her.  Instead, she found Blake roaming the stores with Adam Taurus at her hip. Everything about the boy screamed danger to Yang, but what made the feeling worse was the smile that had been on Blake’s face.  The look of adoration was enough to make Yang see red. It was only when Blake finally noticed her that Yang found herself in control of her body once more, forcing her legs to start running. She hadn’t cared for where she ended up, not until her legs finally began to slow.  Subconsciously, she found that she had ran to the place she had first met Blake: Patch Elementary’s playground.

Yang took a deep breath in, biting her lower lip before turning to finally face Blake.  The grey clouds of the sky matched Blake’s worried expression. They stood in silence, staring at each other.  Not as friends as they had once previously but more as strangers would.

“I called Tai after you ran,” Blake said softly. “He’s worried about you.”

Yang scoffed, looking to the ground as she shoved her hands into her pockets. “All he’s worried about is my kid sister.” She raised her head to look back at Blake. “Why do you care anyways?”

Blake’s eyes widened in confusion. “What are you talking about, Yang?  Of course I care. You’re my best friend.”

Yang could feel her anger starting to bubble.  Her hands clenched into fists in her pockets, vaguely catching Blake’s words as the raven-haired girl began to walk towards her. “Stay away,” she warned Blake.

Blake shook her head. “Yang, come on.  Let’s get you back-”

“WHY WERE YOU WITH HIM?!”

Blake backpedalled at Yang’s sudden outburst. “What?”

Yang pulled her hands out of her pockets, fighting back against the tears that were threatening to leak from her eyes. “Why were you with him?  Why did you lie to me?”

“Seriously?  You’re making this out to be about Adam?” Blake asked, taking a defiant step towards Yang. “I never lied to you.  He’s just a friend.”

Yang took a step back, realizing the implications of her words. “I didn’t mean-”

“Didn’t mean what, Yang?  Because that’s exactly what it sounded like.  I’m allowed to make new friends. Friends who are there for me and not just for them.  I can’t fix all of your problems, Yang!”

Yang flinched at Blake’s words, her anger now replaced with sorrow. “Blake, I didn’t mean that!  I just-”

“I get that you’re having a hard time, Yang.  I can’t begin to imagine how it must feel to lose Summer, but none of us have done anything to receive this kind of treatment!  Especially Adam.” Blake narrowed her eyes at Yang, daring her to counter her. “Why don’t you just grow up for once?”

Yang stared at Blake, eyes wide.  A beat of silence passed before Blake turned to leave.  Yang took a step towards her, wrapping her hand around Blake’s wrist. “Don’t go, Blake,” she whispered.

Blake stopped at the feeling of Yang’s hand around her wrist.  A breeze flew between them, blowing her hair out in a graceful dance.  Thankful Yang was facing her back, Blake tugged her hand out Yang’s reach. “I’ll never be friends with a selfish brat like you,” she said softly.

Yang watched as her former friend sprinted away from her, unaware of Blake’s fight against her own tears with each passing step she took.  She committed the sight to memory, vowing from that day that she would never make another being feel that way ever again.

* * *

 

Yang sighed, drawing her knees closer to her chest. “After that, I deleted any mention of Blake from my things.  It was like she had never been a part of my life. I found out later through one of her friends that she and Adam became an item after our fight, so congrats to me for pushing her more towards him.”

Pyrrha whistled at the tale, leaning back on her hands as she looked down at her friend. “That was...a lot.” Yang nodded once, her eyes still on the floor in front of her. “I do have one question for you.”

Yang looked up at Pyrrha, an eyebrow raised. “Uh, ok?”

“Do you like Blake?  Like, do you have a crush on her?”

Yang turned towards Pyrrha. “What?!  No!”

Pyrrha laughed at Yang’s outburst. “You sure about that?”

“Of course I’m sure!” Yang broke eye-contact with Pyrrha, her eyes returning to the floor below her. “It’s just...the entire thing reminded me of my real mom, the one that chose to leave.”

Pyrrha patted Yang’s head, standing up from her seat on the bench. “It’s alright, Yang.  We’ve all got problems, but you don’t have to keep bottling them up.” She held a hand out to her blonde friend, a smile on her face. “Now, come on.  We’ve got class to go to. We don’t need to give Coach any reason to bench us from the game tonight.”

Yang looked up at Pyrrha, smiling as she shook her head and accepted her friend’s hand. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I hear ya; enough sappiness for today.”

Pyrrha laughed, pulling Yang to her feet. “Nah, more like let’s channel those feelings into beating the other team.” Before Yang could walk past her, Pyrrha gripped the blonde’s shoulder. “Just remember, I’m always here for you, alright?”

Yang nodded once, her smile tight on her face in hopes that it would deter Pyrrha from moving forward anymore with the conversation. “Of course.”

That night, Yang put together one of her best games, the crowd chanting her name by the end of the night.  Even Coach Goodwitch was impressed, a rarity that got the entire locker room cheering at the end of the night.  Yet, Yang still found herself the last one out, the lights of the field having long been shut off. Exhaustion was starting to set it, her sore shoulders praying for a quick ride home, when the shuffling of nearby rocks caught her attention.

Gripping the strap of her book bag, Yang was prepared to use it as a weapon as she turned towards the noise. “Who’s there?”

A beat of silence passed before the stranger walked out into the streetlight, golden eyes looking shyly at lilac.  Yang felt her grip relax at the sight of Blake, a tightness forming in her chest at the sight of her former friend.  There was something about her former friend that was different; gone was the confidence that Yang had once associated with the raven hair girl, replaced with something that she couldn’t put her tongue on.  This wasn’t the same person who had shouted at Yang all three years ago. No, this was an entirely different person.

“Thank you,” Blake whispered.

Yang blinked her eyes. “Uh...for what?”

Blake looked away towards the ground. “For the other day.  You took down those guys who were attacking me. Thank you.”

Yang shrugged. “I mean, it’s whatever.  It’s not like I was going to run off or something.” She hadn’t meant for the words to come out with such bite and regretted them after seeing Blake flinch. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound that way.”

Blake shook her head. “No, it’s fine.  I deserved that.”

Yang frowned at her words. “No, Blake, you didn’t.  You didn’t deserve to have those guys attack you either.”

Blake looked up at Yang.  The sadness that lingered there pulled at Yang’s heart, and she wanted nothing more than to pull the girl into a hug. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you come help me?  I know you saw it was me in trouble, and you could’ve just let them continue.”

Yang shrugged, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “It didn’t matter if it was you or not, Blake.  I would’ve done it regardless. You were in trouble and needed help.”

“Even after our history?”

Yang sighed, putting her left hand on her hip. “Blake, regardless of whatever history you and I have, I’m not about to let someone get hurt.  Besides, someone’s gotta stand up to the meanies.”

Blake chuckled at Yang’s words. “You’re still a child sometimes, you know that?”

Yang laughed, a wide smile on her face. “I get reminded of that every once in a while, usually by Weiss.” An awkward silence passed between the two before Yang finally found the courage to ask the question that had been lingering on her tongue. “Why are you attending Beacon and not Haven, Blake?”

Blake’s smile vanished before Yang’s eyes, her eyes darting to the ground below her. “I uh...that’s...that’s a long story.”

Sensing that the topic was on a need-to-know basis, Yang nodded. “Well, if you ever want to talk about it, feel free to stop by our place.  Bring your parents with you; I’m sure Dad would love to catch up with them.”

Yang watched as fear flickered in Blake’s eyes before the raven hair girl steeled her expression with a tight smile. “I’ll be sure to let them know.”

Yang nodded once and bid Blake goodbye, walking over to Bumblebee.  As she slid her helmet onto her head, she couldn’t help but cast one last look towards her former friend.  It didn’t feel right, watching the girl start to make her way home by herself, but Yang had a gut feeling that it’s what Blake wanted.  She was right in her feeling that Blake had changed, but it was going to take more than a small talk to figure out just how much. Yang sighed at the thought, listening as Bumblebee roared to life under her.  She just wish that the entire ordeal hadn’t left her with more questions than answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!
> 
> As always, be sure to leave comments, kudos, etc. I'm always excited to see your input!
> 
> And make sure to follow me on tumblr!


	3. Stand Back Up

“I promise it looks worse than what it really is.”

 

“You sure about that?  Because it looks really bad.”

 

“Nah, I’m good!  I’m ready toMOTHERFUCKER!”

 

Weiss sighed, looking up at Yang with an irritated look.  She turned towards the bench, pointing to the group of junior varsity players. “One of you, go get the trainer!”

 

Yang reached out towards towards the group, hoping to stop whoever chose to obey Weiss’s command, but Weiss swatted her hand back down. “Weiss, it’s nothing!”

 

“Yang, it’s starting to swell already.  We get that you’re some badass with a rough-and-tough, take-no-prisoner mentality, but if we have any hope of taking home the state championship, you have to let the trainer look at your ankle.”

 

Yang moved to retort, but Pyrrha’s hand on her shoulder ceased the notion.  For the first time in the past decade, Beacon Academy was in the state finals for women’s soccer, and she wanted nothing more than to take part in the game.  They could make history as freshmen, and having a championship under her belt would only do wonders for college recruitment. An injury now could spell disaster, and Yang was needed more than ever as their opponents for the final were from Haven Academy.  With one of the best programs in the country, Yang needed to be at one hundred percent come game time.

 

Even as she held steadfast that her ankle was fine, the athletic trainer instructed Yang to take the next few days off and to use a pair of crutches for the rest of the day.  It was all Coach needed to hear before dismissing her from practice. Begrudgingly, Yang took the crutches from the trainer’s cart and made her way to the locker room. She quickly changed out of her practice uniform and into a pair of black shorts and an orange tank-top, the bangs of her equipment being thrown into her locker resounding throughout the locker room.

 

The anger in her chest dissipated as Yang made her way out to her car.  At her father’s insistence, Bumblebee had been moved to the garage for storage with the cold weather beginning to make its way to Vale.  Yang threw her bags into the back of the black sedan, grumbling as she pulled her scroll out to check the time.  _ 4:30pm.   _ Yang sighed, adjusting her grip on the crutches before turning to make her way back towards the main school building.  Ruby would be getting out of her theater rehearsal soon, and it would save on gas if Yang brought her home.

 

Beacon’s auditorium was a more recent addition after a large donation from an alumni was given three years prior.  In the year since its completion, it had become a hub for presentations, plays, meet-and-greets, and every other event that required a large amount of seating.  Yang made her way into the seating space as quietly as she could, the voices of the theater club covering the clinks of her crutches. She smiled reflexively when her ears caught the sound of her sister’s voice.  Once she made herself comfortable, Yang sent a quick text to her father, explaining that she had gotten out of practice early and would be bringing Ruby home, when another familiar voice caught her attention.

 

“Good!  Let’s do it once more from the top,” Blake called out, walking out to the middle of the stage.

 

Yang raised an eyebrow as she watched Blake direct the actors to differing spots on the stage.  She had noticed the raven-haired girl opening more to those in the theater club, especially Ruby, in the past couple months of school.  She wasn’t the Blake that Yang had known all those years ago, but at the same time, Yang knew that she wasn’t the same person Blake had known.  She watched as Blake’s brow would furrow as she listened intently to the speaking actors, stopping them for encouragement or to tweak portions of their actions.  It was never in a condescending way, and Yang could see it with each stop. She found herself entranced by Blake, impressed with how much control she had over the production.  This Blake was a polar opposite to the scared girl Yang had saved at the beginning of the school year, and she couldn’t help but smile at how large the difference was.  _ If only she was- _

 

**_RING!  RING!_ **

 

Yang jumped in her seat, fumbling to pull her scroll out of her pocket for the incoming call from Tai.  She quickly silenced the call, biting her lip as she looked back towards the stage. All of the actors had gone silent, and every single set of eyes were now on her, surprise written on most of their expressions.  Everyone except Blake, who looked more irritated at the interruption than surprised. Yang slowly started to sink in her seat, the glare of those golden eyes heavy as they rested on her.

 

Blake sighed, turning her attention back to the actors. “I think that’s enough for today, guys.  We’ll meet back up next week, and hopefully we’ll be doing costume adjustments for everyone. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a text.”

 

Yang watched as the actors nodded and took their leave, some of them smiling and waving to Blake before running out the doors.  She turned her attention from the departing actors to Blake but found the girl already making her way towards the back of the stage.  Yang felt a ping of disappointment settle in her chest, but she quickly shook it from her mind as a familiar red hood made its way up the aisle to her.  Ruby was all smiles as she sped towards Yang, only to put the brakes on quickly at the sight of the crutches next to her sister.

 

Yang held her hand up as Ruby’s mouth began to form the questions that were rapidly filling her mind. “It’s not as bad as it looks, Ruby.  Just a sprain. The trainer said I had to use the crutches for the rest of the day and to take it easy, that’s all.”

 

Ruby bit her lower lip, the worry still present in her silver eyes. “What about the state finals?”

 

Yang smiled, standing up to put her hands on Ruby’s shoulders. “I’ll be fine, Ruby.  Nothing’s going to keep me from playing in the state finals, and I mean nothing.”

 

Ruby looked Yang in the eyes, her worry subsiding under Yang’s confident gaze.  When Yang’s scroll began to ring again, she quickly answered her father’s call. Even as Tai listed off question after question into Yang’s ear, she found her eyes returning to the stage.  She saw Blake walking across the stage, her attention focused on the binder in her hands. Lilac eyes continued to follow the raven-haired girl to the side door where Sun was waiting for her, a bright smile on his face.  Yang could hear herself numbly answering her father’s questions as she watched Blake and Sun interact, a small smile appearing at whatever Sun was rambling about. It was a cute interaction, but all Yang felt was...regret?

 

Yang bit her lip.  _ What the hell am I doing?  There’s nothing I should be regretful about. _

 

Ruby’s hand on her shoulder broke Yang’s concentration, and she forced herself to look at her sister. “Hey, you ok?  Dad already hung up.”

 

Yang looked at her scroll, and sure enough, the menu stared back at her instead of a picture of her father.  She quickly turned her attention back to Ruby, a smile on her face. “Yeah sorry. I guess I just got lost in thought for a minute and wasn’t paying attention.” She grabbed her crutches from their spot next to her, ushering Ruby towards the door. “Come on, let’s get you home so that I can stop using these damn things.” Ruby nodded, walking out in front of Yang as they left the auditorium.  

 

Both were unaware of Blake’s stare, a smile on her face as she listened to the bickering of the two sisters resound off of the hallway walls.   _ Sometimes I wonder about those two. _

* * *

 

Yang crouched in the middle of the field, her breath coming in spurts and her ankle practically screaming at her.  She looked up from the ground as girls around her rushed to congratulate each other, smiles bright on their faces as cheers erupted from the stands.  She watched as the losing team made their way towards their bench, each of them fighting back tears as their heads hung in defeat. To come so close only for the win to slip through their fingers.  Her heart clenched at the sight, her own tears threatening to spill as Haven Academy’s fight song began to play through the speakers.

 

_ I will not cry.  I will not cry. I will not cry. _

 

Yang stood up, turning her attention to the stands that held Beacon’s fans.  Majority of them were leaving, frustration written all over their faces, and yet those were the hardest ones for Yang to accept.  She knew they saw the late game collapse, and there was no one else to blame for the collapse but her. She knew they would talk about it in the halls of Beacon, and the talk would travel out to the city of Vale.  She deserved it; she could’ve prevented the collapse but didn’t. The failure of the game was on her shoulders and hers alone. There was a small part of her that wished this wasn’t the case and hated that it was even happening.  All of their hard work was down the drain, and tonight’s game was the only impression the crowd would remember their season for.

 

Yang looked to the sky, taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.  Finally deciding to go join her teammates at the bench, Yang looked once more towards the Beacon crowd where she knew her father and sister had been sitting.  Instead of finding them alone with understanding smiles on their faces, she found herself staring at a crowd of people around them. At the forefront of the crowd was Black, a smile on her face with a 2 painted on her cheek and a sign raised high above her head.

 

**_Stand back up!_ ** was painted on the sign in Beacon colors with her number in every corner of the sign.

* * *

 

“You know we’re not allowed to be out here, Yang.  Your dad’s going to be really mad at us,” Yang heard Blake say as she turned towards the next branch higher that was closest to her.

 

Yang bit her lip before launching herself at the next branch up.  Her arms wrapped over the branch, she swung her legs up to help balance herself.  Confident that she wouldn’t fall, Yang looked down at Blake, a wide smile on her face. “That’s only if he catches us!  Now come on, or are you a scaredy cat?”

 

Blake huffed at the notion. “I’m not a scaredy cat, Yang.  I just don’t want to climb the tree.”

 

Yang rolled her eyes, pulling herself up into a sitting position.  At the young age of six, her need for adventure was the only thing fueling her drive to the top of the three.  There wasn’t a road too long or a tree too high that she couldn’t conquer. With her best friend at her side as a lookout, Yang continued to climb the tallest tree in the forest near her home.  She pushed herself along the trunk, looking for a higher branch to climb on to. Seeing one that looked promising, Yang reached out to the branch, finding it just outside of her reach.

 

Yang smiled to herself.   _ Nothing a little jump boost couldn’t solve. _

 

She launched herself towards the branch, her hand wrapping around it.  Her momentum proved to be too much for the branch, the wood snapping and sending Yang plummeting towards the ground.  She vaguely registered Blake’s cry of her name, the fear of the fall clouding her thoughts. Yang closed her eyes, covering her face with her arms and praying that the impact wouldn’t kill her.  Accepting the incoming impact, she wasn’t prepared for someone slamming into her side. The two fell to the ground, cushioning each other’s impact as they rolled away from the tree.

 

Yang groaned at the intensity of her new headache, slowly pushing herself to a sitting position.  She brought he hand to her head as the body underneath her groaned. Opening her eyes, she found herself sitting on top of Blake, both of their clothes slightly torn from the tumble. “You idiot,” Yang mumbled softly, moving off of Blake slowly so as to not agitate her headache. “What were you thinking?”

 

Blake groaned, blinking a couple times before glaring up at Yang. “What was I thinking?  Really? I told you not to do it!”

 

Yang rolled her eyes, rubbing the sides of her head as the headache started to recede. “I had it under control.”

 

“Tell that to the branch.”

 

Yang huffed before catching Blake’s expression as she stared up the sky above them.  It was her thinking face, one that Blake often had when she was reading one of her books. “What are you thinking about?  Please don’t tell me you’re playing that cloud game again. It’s so boring.”

 

Blake shook her head and turned her focus to her friend. “Why do you do it?”

 

Yang tilted her head to the side. “Do what?”

 

Blake pushed herself up to her elbows. “All this adventuring stuff.”

 

Yang sat beside Blake, shrugging. “I don’t know.  It’s fun?”

 

Blake looked down at her feet. “You’re just so...you’re so much more outgoing than anyone else.  It’s like you’re not afraid of anything.”

 

“That’s not true, Blake.” Blake slowly looked up at Yang, who smiled brightly at her friend. “I’m scared of a lot of things, but my dad told me once that I couldn’t stay scared.” Yang puffed her chest out, trying her hardest to lower her voice to match her father’s. “You just have to keep standing back up when they knock you down.”

 

Both girls erupted into laughter at Yang’s attempt at imitation before the shouts of their parents drew them back towards the house.

* * *

 

Yang bit her lip at the memory, a smile slowly growing on her face.  A renewed sense of determination began to flow through her body, and she found her legs pushing her towards her teammates.  She gathered the team in a circle, energizing each of them with a speech that was pouring out of her heart. Pyrrha and Weiss looked to each other, matching smirks on their faces as they listened to Yang.  By the time everyone had reached the locker room, the night’s loss was a thing of the past.

 

When Yang exited the locker room, she quickly made her way over to her family and friends.  Tai was the first to meet her, wrapping his arms around his eldest. “I’m sorry about tonight, honey.  Maybe next year.”

 

Yang hugged her father back, smiling up at him. “Of course!  Only next year we’ll be bringing home the championship.”

 

Tai raised an eyebrow at his daughter. “What about tonight?”

 

Yang shrugged, looking over his shoulder towards the small group of her friends gathered around the flagpole. “Thing of the past.” She smiled at him. “Be right back,” she said as she moved past Tai to jog to the group.

 

Sun was the first to see Yang jogging over, waving his arm high in the air. “Yo Yang!  Hey, sorry about tonight. It was a good game.”

 

Yang waved off his apology, smiling as Pyrrha and Weiss joined their group. “I’m not too worried about it.  We know what to expect now, and come next year, we’ll be the ones on top.” She turned to Blake, hoping that her smile wasn’t faltering. “Hey can we talk privately?”

 

Blake’s back straightened at the request, but she nodded once. “Uh, sure.”

 

Yang nodded, walking with Yang off to the back of the bleachers.  Yang bit her lower lip, the hushed voices of their friends drifting to her ears as they speculated what Yang wanted to talk about with Blake.  Her fingers started to bounce against her leg, a twitch that only made its appearance whenever she was nervous. Once she knew they were far enough away from the others, Yang stopped in her tracks and turned to Blake.

 

“Uh...thanks for coming out to the game,” she told Blake, her eyes staring down at her feet.

 

“It’s no problem.”

 

Silence enveloped between the two, and it was only allowing the anxiety in Yang’s chest to continue to build.  She found herself wanting to say something, anything, but her words couldn’t form in her mouth. Yang couldn’t understand it; she wanted to actually have a conversation with Blake, but now it just felt like she was making things awkward between the two of them again.

 

Gathering what little courage she, Yang raised her head and found herself staring into comforting yellow eyes.  It was as if Blake could see right through her nervousness. Just as the words began to bubble to the surface, Sun’s voice ended any chance of further conversation.

 

“Babe come on!  We gotta get you home before your dad hangs me upside down like a monkey!”

 

The two girls looked over to see Sun waving at them with a large smile on his face.  Blake sighed, smiling apologetically to Yang. “I’m sorry. We can talk later, right?”

 

Yang swallowed hard, nodding once. “Yeah.  Sure. Later.”

 

Blake could see in Yang’s eyes that she wanted to talk more, but she knew Yang would talk to her when she was ready.  She always had. So Blake jogged over to Sun but not without looking over her shoulder once more at the blonde she had left under the bleachers.  Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn that there was a different energy around Yang. An energy that seemed to make Blake’s heart want to beat faster the more she looked at Yang, pushing her towards wanting to run from Sun and back to Yang.

 

And yet, she couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey. This is still a thing.
> 
> In all seriousness, sorry for the like...5 month unplanned hiatus due to school/starting a new job/finding a new partner/writer's block. If you couldn't tell, my life took an interesting turn that I'm still kind of trying to navigate.
> 
> Good news though: I'm writing again, so that's a thing. Leave me some comments on what you think about the chapter.


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